“We should all respect the law and maintain peace,” he added.

“We should all respect the law and maintain peace,” the dera chief appealed to his followers.(HT Photo)

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh late Thursday night appealed to his followers to go back home and asked them to maintain peace.

“I had requested the followers not to come to Panchkula. I request the dera followers who have come to Panchkula to go back,” the self-styled godman said in a video message.

“We should all respect the law and maintain peace,” he added.

Parts of Haryana and Punjab as well as Chandigarh were under a security lockdown on Thursday as 200,000 supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh massed in Panchkula ahead of a verdict in a rape trial against him.

Schools, colleges and government offices were closed, and train and bus services suspended. The army was placed on standby, while police and paramilitary forces patrolled sensitive areas.